When it comes to this reality TV show about love and money I am completely torn. On one hand it’s nice that there is a service to help you find your one true love if you don’t have the time or the patience to do it yourself. On the other hand I have to wonder what type of person goes on a reality dating show to either a) showcase to the world they’re a millionaire or b) be the type of person who only wants to date someone with money. I just don’t get it.

Do you watch the Millionaire Matchmaker?

I am sort of drawn to the show because the matchmaker herself Patty Stranger is a festinating person. Truly. She puts her personal life and lifestyle out there for everyone to see. She was single, engaged and now she’s single again. Through all that she still believes in love.

If you’ve ever had your heart broken you know how hard it is and how long it takes to feel whole again. Sometimes we never do, sometimes we cope and move on to continue living our lives but there just may always be a little piece of us missing.

Would you ever use a dating service?

I would love to know how you met your spouse. I met Nick at a party during our first year of college. I followed him around until his friend eventually introduced us. Sure I should have been insulted he didn’t notice me all night, but I’m persistent.

If I was single I’m not even sure how I’d meet someone, maybe a dating service is the way to go. I am so set in my ways and so busy with my multiple jobs that I don’t think I’d put the effort into meeting someone – they would definitely have to find me. I definitely wouldn’t be out at clubs on Saturday nights hoping to find my one true love.

How strong is a relationship based on money?

Maybe people meet on the Millionaire Matchmaker and truly do fall in love. Maybe. But I can’t help but wonder how strong can a relationship be when it’s built on a foundation of green paper? The millionaires are there to meet beautiful women and handsome men who are strictly there to meet someone with money. How superficial is that?

I would think the question of doeshe/she truly love me or is it really just about the money? would always be on my mind.

The relationships are honest

Even though they might be superficial at least the relationships are honest. Both people are going into it knowing exactly what they’re getting in to. The millionaire knows that they are looking for someone who wants to date someone with cash and the contestants (is that what they’re called?) know they are strictly looking for a mate with money. Maybe that’s the way to do it – complete and total brutal honesty.

Although if it were me I would still make the gold digger, oops I mean the contestant , sign a prenupt.

We’re in the middle of spring and that means women all around the country are planning their big day and sending out wedding invitations to their family and friends. If you’re a bride on a budget you may be willing to splurge on the most important parts of your big day and that means finding ways to save on the other little details.

One of the biggest ways to save on your wedding is to DIY whatever you can. You may be asking yourself how can I make wedding invitations. The truth is you can save a lot of money if you get a little creative and decide to get your hands a little bit dirty – or full of sparkles and colors.

Choose good quality paper to start

Just because your wedding invitations are going to be DIY doesn’t mean they can’t also be fabulous. A wedding invitation is paper and if you want it to be nice that starts with finding good quality paper. You’ll be saving a lot of money by making your own wedding invitations so it’s O.K. to splurge a bit on materials. That’s the thing about DIY splurging will still save you money because doing it yourself is cheaper than hiring a professional.

Match your colors

How to make wedding invitations perfect? Make them as if they were being done by a professional. You need to like what you’re sending out so make them pretty, remember the invitations are your wedding’s first impression – so make it a good one. Choose paper, materials and ink colors that match your bridal party and theme colors.

You can DIY your save the dates too

When my cousin got married his wife sent out save the dates that were homemade magnets. I thought this was such a cool idea because it’s both functional and thrifty. All you need to do is print out your names and the wedding date and glue them on to magnet squares. To save money you should use the same materials as your actual invitations because buying in bulk is always cheaper.

Skip the printer

There’s no need to run to Kinkos to print your save the dates and wedding invitations, all you need a good printer at home or even your office. I received a wedding invitation last year to my co-workers wedding and it was hand written, which is a nice personal touch. Why spend hundreds of dollars at a professional printer when you can print or write them yourself.

If your penmanship is not up to par or you don’t have the time to personally address your invitations printing your invitations is another way to go. If you buy the paper from one place you can get the details and labels printed at a local shop for much cheaper than going to a wedding store.

When planning your wedding keep in mind that everything and anything with the name wedding on it is expensive.

Good morning Loves. With Mother’s Day quickly approaching this weekend I started thinking about all the wonderful things I’ve learned from my mother over the years.

To say that mother daughter relationships are complicated would be a huge understatement, at least mine is. But despite our ups and downs I’ve learned some valuable lessons from my mother over my 35 years.

What’s the best advice you ever got from your mom?

Dress with the season

Everything about my mother from her manners and demeanour to her style and attitude are the perfect mix between Emily Gilmore from the Gilmore Girls and Martha Stewart from…well, Martha Stewart. My mom is good with money, can run a business and always dresses in pastels from head to toe. She even has short hair like Mrs. Gilmore and Ms. Stewart.

The best fashion advice I ever learned from my mom is that “Ladies never dress in all black.” Yes that’s a direct quote. Her pants or skirt always match her top and her hand bag always matches her shoes, which are always high heels…even on the weekends. We went to NYC for four days and my mom walked around the city in heels, short ones but heels nevertheless.

Proper manners at all times

My mother loves to have a good time, but she never acts a fool. She is perfectly poised at all times, never raises her voice (we’ll get to that in a minute) and always, always keeps her legs crossed. My sister and I are extremely loud, like when we’re in a room together you can hear us down the block.

When my sister enters a room she flings over the door and yells “What’s up people?” My mother’s response is always “Ladies don’t yell.” Yes that’s my family! Thanks to my mom I always act like a lady, well at least I try to…around her.

Get ahead at work by keeping your cool

When I tell you that my mom is a brilliant business lady I’m not joking. By day she works in Human Resources and by night she runs her husband’s business. She started her career as a secretary (is that the politically correct word) and worked her way up to a director.

She gives good advice about workplace matters and usually sheds light on difficult co-worker situations. Remember when my co-worker called me a bad name? She’s the one who walked me thorough it. My Dad on the other hand said I should break his legs with a baseball bat. They’re divorced.

Always have a welcoming home

Not only does my mother rotate her wardrobe with every season change, she also changes the decor in her home. If you walk in to her home this time of year it will be full of fresh cut flowers, bright table cloths and candles smelling of fresh cotton. If you were to visit my mom in October her dining room table would have an orange and brown center piece and her entire home would smell like apples and cinnamon. She’s very festive!

Good morning Loves. As you read this I’m on my way home from New Orleans and as of last Wednesday when I left BF and I still didn’t have a place to live. We need to move October 1 and we have yet to sign a new lease. We have been apartment hunting since June and now that we are in crunch time I am starting to reflect on what it means that neither one of us want to sign a new lease.

What does our inability to sign a lease say about our relationship?

The question to ask is – do we not want to sign a new lease because we haven’t found the perfect apartment or do we just not want to sign a lease with each other? Looking back over the last few months of apartment hunting I can’t help but see the how our moving situation may be a direct reflection of what we are going through in our relationship.

We have been in our apartment (small as it may be) for six years and although it was supposed to only be temporary we grew accustom to it – downfalls and all. We are moving because we need more space and we just want some peace and quiet. We want to move to a neighborhood that is quiet but has essential amenities such as restaurants, a dry cleaner, a grocery store and a pharmacy.

I can’t help but wonder with less than 10 days to move and nowhere to go what does this say about my personality and my relationship with BF?

Is it really about the apartment?

I’ve come to realize that moving is really a metaphor for life and relationships. We need to move but can’t make a decision on where to live. Is this because we don’t really know where our relationship is going?

Keep in mind that I could be relocated or even jobless come January with the acquisition of my company by a competing firm and BF has already made it very clear that he doesn’t want to move to another city.

Why the need for change?

We are looking for a complete change. We want to move to a new apartment in a new neighborhood. Actually we want everything to be new; we want to live in a small building as oppose to the 21 floor apartment block we live in now.

We want a two bedroom apartment as oppose to our current one bedroom and we want it to be fully equipped including a washer and dryer in the apartment (not shared in the building) as well as a dishwasher. What does this say about us? Maybe we are being picky, maybe we are looking for a fresh start or maybe there’s another reason we are looking for the impossible apartment.

Afraid to make a commitment after 15 years?

Some people may say we are being extremely picking when trying to choose a new apartment, but I just think we are being careful in our choice. Maybe our indecisiveness is a metaphor for our relationship. Maybe we just don’t know where we are headed or maybe we are completely afraid of making a commitment – could that be? Why can’t we just make a decision? My initial thought is it’s because I want to be sure we are living in the perfect apartment in the perfect neighborhood because I definitely don’t want to be stuck for another six years in an apartment that we don’t like. However I can’t help but wonder if our moving criteria are a much needed change in our lives or are we just afraid to making a commitment?